Naturally, Linux isn't officially supported, but I suspect someone has run into this before. What do I need to on my Ubuntu 12.04 setup to get it to recognize either of these connection types for USB tethering?

Can't you try both and test which works better?
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desguaMay 30 '12 at 21:18

You would be better off if your friend would root their phone... then it would work across the board without giving an OS option.
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itnet7May 30 '12 at 21:55

3

I do USB tethering all the time with my Android phone, but per the above it is rooted and using a custom ROM.. CM 7.2. Once the phone is in tether mode, Ubuntu recognizes it as a "wired" connection, no other configuration is required.
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KendorMay 30 '12 at 22:29

@desgua, I tried both and neither worked! I suspect rooting may be the only solution, unless there's something on the ubuntu-end that can mimic PC or MacOS and solve this.
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MittenchopsMay 31 '12 at 18:45

Maybe you can get an app at Google Play to just turn on usb tethering, default? It works great at Ubuntu.
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desguaMay 31 '12 at 19:34

2 Answers
2

My last phone ran Android 2.3 and i had no problems with USB tethering. I could set the USB connection to default to tethering and all i had to do was plug it in to my Linux laptop and it was online. So it's not Android 2.3 - but it may be your carrier. I believe Optus may not allow tethering on prepaid. I'm with Telstra and they do.

I think you're right---oddly, it was setting the default that worked, rather than just changing the current setting. I assume without changing the default, it was still trying to mount the drive or something? Not sure, but it works fine now.
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MittenchopsJul 24 '12 at 19:21

gsm galaxy nexus here. I only have the option to enable usb teethering, no prompt about OS type.
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Fred ThomsenMay 21 '13 at 4:59

@FredThomsen: That prompt only appears if no OS is set in the tethering options.
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Daniel HilgarthJul 24 '13 at 20:20

Yes..I have also experienced same problem.
This is due to carrier.
I am from India.
There are two carriers namely IDEA and AirTel.
I was able to connect with IDEA on 3G but for AIRTEL no luck
but when I switched Airtel network to 2G, I was able to connect sadly speed was low.
May be you can change the network type